Fire up the grill! Preheat your grill to 300 degrees, closing the lid on the bbq grill.

Place ground beef and pork in medium size glass bowl. Add in minced garlic, salt, and pepper. With your hands, mix ingredients until garlic is fully incorporated. Taking a cookie sheet, cover with a piece of tin foil or parchment paper and set aside.

Next step is to form burgers. I like my burgers on the meaty side so I make them on the thicker side. This is a personal preference, so when forming your burgers, make’em the way you like. I typically form my burgers to be about 1½ thick and about 4½ inches wide. Grab some meat from the bowl, rolling into a ball. Place on the cookie sheet and press flat until you have the desired shape and thickness.

Now that your burgers are grill ready, head outside and put the burgers on the grill. Shut the grill lid and let the burgers caramelize (takes about 2-3 minutes depending upon which meat used – pork takes a bit longer). Once you’ve got a good caramelization on one side, flip the burger over, allowing the burger to cook for another 3-4 minutes. I like my burgers a bit on the medium-rare side, so at the 5 minute mark, I check the burger to ensure it’s cooked just right (take a steak knife, cutting into the center of the burger to check the color). Next add on cheese, closing the lid to get a good melt.

Take the burgers off the grill, placing onto your cooking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Allow burgers to sit for a moment so the burger retains the juices. Now your burgers ready to assemble – Here’s how I stack my burger:

Bun bottom

Garlic mayo

Burger with cheese

Sliced onions

Amaretto Sauce

Tomato

Mixed greens (dress lightly in olive oil and a pinch of salt, mixing by hand to coat greens completely)

Bun top

I find stacking my burger in this order optimizes the flavors. Get crazy with your toppings. Fry up some onions coated in gluten-free/GMO free cornstarch, as this will add some savory crunch to the burger. Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner, the perfect time to grill up some burgers and top them off with Tillamook Cheese.